Student News

Word from the Editors

Welcome Back, this is our fourth edition of NHS Student News!

With a uniquely varied student body involved in everything from leadership to the many clubs and societies that add to Nossal's trademark adherence to a love of learning in any field, we felt that for the average student frantically checking emails, scrolling through NEO and reading the newsletter, it can be a bit of a pain to stay on top of the unpredictable Nossal lifestyle. Ladies, gentlemen, welcome to Nossal Student Newsletter.

The student newsletter aims to change that for the better. Keep an eye on this page for all the information on big student events, news from clubs, reminders about important student matters and much more.  We sincerely hope that it aids you in not only surviving your busy student life, but thriving in it too.

There's a lot to see and do here at Nossal. With all of the tests, assignments and homework tasks, it can sometimes be incredibly difficult for the average student to truly be aware of all the opportunities at their fingertips. This newsletter aims to help you cut through to the information that YOU need.

So stay awhile, have a browse for a few minutes and come again soon!

Indira Unnava and Abhishek Kumar

Student News Editors

Meet the Writers

Meet a different writer here each issue:

Somathyda Rim

Hello everyone. My name is Thyda from Year 9 and I am extremely excited and privileged to be able to write for the NHS Student News. In each issue I will write a column dedicated to the Co-curricular Sporting Events and activities that have been occurring in and outside our school.

I decided to take up this opportunity because I have a passion for sport and believe that it is a great way to display many characteristics in an individual such as leadership, friendship and sportsmanship. I will endeavour to produce articles about Nossal sport to Nossal students in the most engaging and inspiring way possible.

If you have anything that you’d like to include in future issues, please do not hesitate to reach me as I am open to any ideas regarding sport at Nossal. I hope that you enjoy reading the NHS Newsletter and will, hopefully, one day join our writing team for one issue, or as one of our regular journalists.

Sporting News

On Tuesday May 23, Nossal’s Cross Country team travelled to Akoonah Park to race against other schools. After weeks of Running club, that 'ran' on Monday and Friday lunchtimes, and lots of productive, independent training, Nossal’s qualified runners from each age group ran either 3km or 5km with great sportsmanship and school spirit. Every runner was extremely committed to try their best and to not give up. It was a 1.5km course that included hills, rocks and bridges which made it that much more difficult for the runners to manoeuvre around, but due to their strength and talent, it was a challenge that they were capable of embracing.

The day ran smoothly and everyone had fun cheering on one other. The top 15 runners in each category qualified for Regionals, but congratulations should still be given to everybody who pushed themselves to complete the race:

Under 14 Girls: 

Hasna Kazi - 6th place

Rebecca Le – 15th place

Under 14 Boys:

Nikola Mandic – 2nd place

Brendan Huynh – 21st place

Under 15 Girls:

Annabel Keecha Milsom – 2nd place

Sophie Williams – 6th place

Joyce Houghton – 8th place

Thyda Rim – 9th place

Kriti Jain – 11th place

Kaveesha D'Silva – 12th place

Under 15 Boys:

Rahul Bhondi – 2nd place

Srikar Vallabhapurapu – 5th place

Rahul Preman – 13th place 

Under 16 Girls:

Sofiya Solodunenko – 5th place

Aleena Bino – 7th place

Lily Vo – 13th place

Under 16 boys:

Gurkit Singh – 1st place

Navira Jayawardana – 9th place

Arzan Direcha – 11th place

Arjun Karthik – 17th place

Rakith Wickramaratne – 19th place 

Under 17/18 Girls:

Manisha Venkat – 3rd place

Josephine Vekslar Lam – 4th place

Kalani Dalukderuya – 6th place

Emily Tran – 8th place

Chance Logan – 11th place

Under 17/18 Boys:

Robert Deacon – 6th place

Zain Alsadie – 7th 

Daniel Khoo – 9th 

William Height – 12th place

Shang Zhao – 14th place 

Thyda Rim

Student News Sports Reporter

Quote of the Week

NSU News

It’s been a busy few weeks for the NSU! We’re working on the South East Feast, the Sir Gustav Nossal Medallion awards for clubs and societies, and much more! New clubs have been added to the fold too, which we’re always happy to see.

The NSU Exec is working on ensuring that the  Sir Gustav Nossal Medallion and its associated point system, gets completed in a timely manner.  Stay tuned! Moreover, the Clubs and Societies Webpage will be updated on the Nossal High School website by the NSU! Clubs and Societies are encouraged to email Indira Unnava any club posters or club promotional material to place on the noticeboard in front of the canteen, or suggestions for the webpage. We’d also like to welcome two new clubs, the Society for Nossal E-Sports (SNES) and NEST's project, the Gardening Club, which will launch soon!

Still in the works is the NSU awards - we’re hoping to launch awards for clubs leaders and active participants, to reward students that have made clubs as great as they are! Another idea in the works is a fundraising event to raise money for NSU and various clubs and societies. We’re intending to work with CBHP to raise funds for the children of Buldana, and clubs right here at home.

In more exciting news, we’ve arranged another CLUB SIGN-UP DAY in Term 3 – so if you missed out on signing up for a club in the first sign-up day, or you’re ready to enter another, this will be your chance. It'll be on Monday August 7, in Week 4 - more details to come in future!

As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to contact any executive member of the NSU - our contact details are on the NSU Noticeboard! Our meetings are open to students, and are generally held on the first Friday of each month. And lastly, a thanks: thank you so much everyone who has supported the NSU in 2017! We’re looking forward to more exciting innovations for Nossal clubs in 2017.

Indira Unnava

Secretary of the NSU

Year 11 Ball 2017 - The Dusk Ball

The ball. It's always been something of top priority for Year 11's, but we didn't know how much of a big deal it would be until the day before. It all started when I was sitting in my Methods class and Mr Pegram (Hi Sir!) jokingly said that none of the Year 11's could focus on their work because of the ball.

The ball. Before I knew it, I was in my slick suit welcoming all of my friends at Leonda by the Yarra. As one of the team at the registration table, I got to see all the suits and dresses, and they were all very impressive. 

Then, as soon as the music started, the party did too! It was fulfilling to see (as everyone felt) our peers having fun without the pressure of tests or SACs! Everyone tore up the dance floor, including Monali Samaranayake who danced her way into being crowned best dancer, whilst Ben and Sam Ebenezer were voted best bromance. Congratulations also to Alaina Peach and Nilumi Hettige, who were voted best gal pals! The food, atmosphere, music and camaraderie is what made us want this night to last longer.

All in all, I think I can say on behalf of everyone that attended that this night was one of the best nights in out schooling years, and for some, our entire lives! I would like to extend a very warm thank you to Ms D'Mello, the Ball Committee (including me) and the students that attended the event for making the night a pleasant one, and also the generous NHS staff and the staff at Leonda for organising the night.

Aditya Gadgil

Year 11 Ball Committee  Member

The Explainer - Complex things "Un-boring-ed" with Leo - Is Pluto a planet?

It was one of those things which resonated with us throughout childhood, without us really understanding it: Pluto’s status. So, is Pluto still a planet? Well, put simply (or perhaps complexly), yes and no.

The American National Aeronautics and Space Administration, more commonly known as NASA, classifies Pluto as a ‘dwarf planet’. This designation leads to confusion, as it still offers no insight into what we really want to know: you know, whether Pluto is an ‘actual planet’. However, we must recognise the difference between what we, as the general non-scientific public, see in our eyes as a ‘planet’ and what the actual scientific scientists’ definition is. For the most part, these two views overlap, but once they start to diverge, numerous falsehoods and urban myths start emerging.

Some background

For most of ancient history, it was accepted that the Earth was at the centre of our interplanetary relations, and that bodies such as the Sun orbited the Earth, not the other way around. In fact, it was not until the 16th and early 17th centuries that astronomers such as Galileo Galilei, Nicolaus Copernicus and Johannes Kepler first put forward their theories regarding a solar system, which has the Sun at its apex. With advancing technology, the discovery of more and more of the planets nearest to us occurred until the Lowell Observatory’s 1930 search led to the finding of Pluto, initially named ‘Planet X’.

For the rest of the 1900s, our Solar System was seen as having 9 planets – Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto – all orbiting our little star that we commonly refer to as the Sun. This configuration stayed stable until 2006 when tragedy struck, with the International Astronomical Union (IAU) declassifying Pluto as a planet due to its size.

What is a planet then and why isn’t Pluto one?

The IAU adopted a resolution in 2006 which, for the first time, created an official definition for the term ‘planet’. It specified that three conditions had to be met for a body to be considered, well, a planet:

1. The object must be in orbit around the Sun.
2. The object must be massive enough to be rounded by its own gravity. More specifically, its own gravity should pull it into a shape defined by hydrostatic equilibrium.
3. It must have cleared the neighbourhood around its orbit.

Pluto met the first two conditions, but not the third. Those who argued for Pluto’s exclusion pointed to the fact that Pluto’s mass was only 0.07 times the mass of other objects in its orbit, compared to planets such as Earth, whose figure for the same measure is around 1.7 million times.

Of course, Pluto itself didn’t change in the 76-odd years it was considered a planet, only the definition did. Some leading scientists such as Alan Stern disagreed with the change, casting doubt as to whether there should be a standardised definition at all. Scientists in other fields have debated over other similar questions like, what a continent is, and those who are sceptical about the addition of definitions like these, have stated that they are unnecessary and create confusion rather than clarity.

Backlash from the Pluto-appreciating public ensued, with the now-dwarf planet gaining a somewhat cult-like following to the point that groups such as the Pluto Lovers Forum now exist.

Ultimately, astronomy, like chemistry, mathematics or anything else important for that manner is the way it is because we say that is supposed to be that way. Abstract concepts such as these need a body to determine their respective status. Once we vest authority into organisations to make more sense of complex things, we do have more uniformity and regulation, but that also means for us Pluto lovers, that situations such as the 2006 one may occur. So no, Pluto is not formally a planet, but admirers of what was once considered the night planet in the Solar System should not despair as decisions such as these can – and often are – reversed!

Leo Crnogorcevic

Creative Writing Club

Beyond the Passing

Tendrils of fog reached out around the cemetery. The flowers left by grieving families and friends were obscured by the mist. In the darkness, every movement seemed ominous. Leaves rustling in the nearby trees felt like a spirit brought forth. But I didn’t believe in ghosts. At least not then.

It was a perfect day for a funeral: storm clouds obscuring the sun with rain trickling from the sky like tears even though it was Summer. Even the universe was mourning. I barely took in what was happening. A random priest who had never even seen my grandmother before prattled on like he was her best friend. Strangers came up to me and offered their condolences. You must be so sad. This is such a hard time for your family. I’m so sorry for your loss. As if their pity could make me feel better. As if it could bring my grandmother back.

The one clear thing was when everyone was about to leave. People were subtly stashing leftover food from the dinner into their bags, hoping we wouldn’t notice. Any other time it would’ve made me so mad but I was too numb to feel anything. I quietly drifted away from the ceremonies and stood near a different gravestone. It was the final resting place of a man named Edward Jefferson. I had no idea who that was but the quote was… interesting.

“‘But from this earth, this grave, this dust,

My God shall raise me up, I trust.’

-Walter Raleigh”

I didn’t understand it but it sent a shiver up my spine. I felt like Mr Jefferson’s corpse could suddenly pop out of its grave. But that was silly… wasn’t it?

For the first time, that night, I realised that my bedroom had a perfect view of the graveyard. It felt odd knowing that my grandmother’s dead body was so close to where I slept. I forced myself to close my eyes and sleep. There was nothing but silence, but tonight even the silence felt terrifying. Even though I was bundled up under my quilt and it was summer, I was chilled to the bone. The quote on Edward Jefferson’s gravestone was stuck in my mind. My God shall raise me up. That was creepy. Very creepy. I couldn’t help imagining ghosts and zombies and spirits again.

Just to cleanse my mind of these silly thoughts, I opened my window and looked at the cemetery. See, I told myself, nothing at all. I was being silly. But as I turned to go back to bed, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a face. A pale, shrivelled, ghostly, face.

Pranathi Katneni

Creative Writing Club Member

Call for Writers!

Students are welcome and encouraged to email any pieces to Abhishek and Indira that they would like published on the Student News page.

In saying that, we aim to publish some regular columns in the paper, and we need some regular writers for columns like:.

·        Hot Topic – a feature article on a current issue

·        A "How To" Column

·        Recipe Column

·        Events Column

·        Sports Column

·        Person of the week (like an inspiring person)/ Guest Interviews

·        Rundown of important student dates

·        Human Interest Articles

·        General Interest Articles. So if you want to run a Fashion or games column, please let us know.

Those who are interested in being part of the Editorial Team for the regular sections, please write an expression of interest (no more than 200 words) and also a sample article for your preferred column. 

Please email  studentnews@nossalhs.vic.edu.au with any questions and your expressions of interest.

Meditation Club

How to Meditate in a few simple steps:

Sit or lie comfortably.

Close your eyes.

Make no effort to control the breath and simply breathe naturally.

Focus your attention on the breath and on how the body moves with each inhalation and exhalation.

Notice the movement of your body as you breathe. Observe your chest, shoulders, rib cage, and belly. Simply focus your attention on your breath without controlling its pace or intensity. If your mind wanders, return your focus back to your breath.

Use https://www.calm.com/ and listen to the sounds for a set amount of time and explore the other amazing features on it!

 Indira Unnava

Meditation Club Leader

Wishing everyone peace and light

Good luck to everyone for your upcoming tests and SACs. Don’t stress and stay smiling! And everyone, please try to remember:

School is not your life, you are your life, so treat yourself well, because you deserve it. :)